Mali’s Interim Leadership Detained in Coup Attempt, UN Says

(Bloomberg) -- Mali’s international partners sought the immediate release of the country’s interim leadership, calling their arrests a “tentative coup” by mutinous soldiers.

“We strongly condemn the coup attempt that took place following the announcement of the new cabinet,” the United Nations, U.S., France and others said in a joint statement. The move comes after an Aug. 18 coup saw the ouster of former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and adds to the chaos in the West African country.

Mali’s President Bah N’Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane were taken to military barracks outside the capital Bamako on Monday hours after a government reshuffle, according to a political adviser to the interim government, the UN and other officials. The new cabinet saw the military retain key posts but left out two members of the junta who were behind the August coup.

The State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs called “for their immediate, unconditional release” in a tweet.

Mali’s interim leadership was arrested by “rebellious soldiers,” the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States said in a separate statement.

An ECOWAS delegation was expected in Bamako on Tuesday to resume the transition process ahead of presidential elections in about nine months that are intended to return Mali to civilian rule.

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